Taphophobia Revisited
by thatfantasyworldofmine
Summary: An alternate ending to "Taphophobia", also from the Doctor's perspective.


_logicallylaughing asked: (in reference to 'Taphophobia') would it be so bold of me to request an alternate ending in which their messy situation doesn't end up being a dream?_

* * *

The Doctor knew that keeping Rose in the dark - so to speak - was futile as soon as she started to stir, but it sure wasn't going to stop him trying. She shifted, starting to sit up. _Oh no you don't._ He quickly tightened his arm around her waist and pulled her close to him, revelling in the wonderful feeling of Rose Tyler cuddle up to him.

"Rose, go back to sleep," he murmured as gently as possible, daring to hope in her post drug-induced state she wouldn't notice the clattering of gravelly dirt being dumped on top of them. He'd seen by the light of the sonic that already the glass had started to crack, and anxious anticipation made his chest tighten.

"Doctor…" Rose mumbled, and since his eyes had adjusted to the darkness long before, he could see as she opened her eyes and blinked blearily.

"Rose, trust me." He covered her eyes, trying to keep her innocent for as long as possible. "Go to sleep." Who knew how much she remembered? The Doctor had seen the dosage they'd injected her with just before passing out; it ignited a hard anger in him that they had even laid their hands on Rose, but to drug her with nearly twice as much that was needed? It made him _furious_. He took a deep breath as Rose's hand grasped at his and pulled it away from her face.

"Doctor, what's goin' on?" She tried to free herself, turning to the noise of dirt being shovelled on top of their glass prison. With a sudden gasp she seemed to realise; before he could stop her, she wrenched herself away from him, sitting up far too quickly and whacking her head on the hard pane. She let out a pained cry, clutching her head and flopping back down next to the Doctor. Her wheezed panicky breathing reached his ears.

"Rose-" The Doctor grabbed her arm and drew her close, back into his firm embrace. "Rose, you've got to calm down," he told her gently, and kissed her forehead as she trembled, almost hyperventilating. "We've got to conserve air, just try and breathe slowly…." He stroked her hair as he smoothed his words, making them as comforting and calming as possible. "There you go… just try stay calm." Rose's breathing more or less evened out, but she didn't stop trembling. Her whole body was shaking; the Doctor knew because she was pressed up as close as she could get to him.

"Doctor," she whimpered, her voice coming out as muffled through the fabric of his shirt. His arms tightened around her as the beginnings of a plan to get them out swirled around his mind. _The sonic - no, but the glass - if it's at the right frequency…_ "Doctor, how'd we get here?"

Ah, so she didn't remember. "They drugged us," he replied, rubbing her back in an attempt to keep his scared companion relatively calm. "You more than me; silly human, you fought back." A note of pride entered his voice as he remembered Rose, kicking out at their attackers as they tried to pin her down. She would've put a five year old's tantrum to shame. "Must've given you a bit of amnesia, plus that knock on the head you just have yourself can't have helped." He didn't mention the near overdose. A nasty thought entered his head - _had that been their intention?_ He shoved it aside, pressing a kiss to the top of her head, comforting both Rose and himself. It would've been her cheek, but her face was still pressed into his chest, hiding. "Trust me, Rose, I promise you, I'm going to get us out of here," the Doctor swore, pulling out the sonic and fiddling with one of the settings only by touch in the darkness. The blue light lit up their enclosure, and the Doctor flinched at the expanse of cracks, like white lines on a map spread across the fractured glass. "Ahh." That was an accelerated development he wasn't prepared for; his fingers went back to adjusting the frequency, quick as he could. It had to be perfect. Their survival depended on it.

"What is it?" Rose asked shakily, emerging from his side. No way was he going to show her _that_, so he hurriedly flicked off the dim beam.

"Nothing to worry about, just figurin-"

"Doctor, tell me!" she insisted, jabbing him in the side with her elbow. "You're only freakin' me out more by not tellin' me…" The Doctor frowned, but reluctantly he supposed she would have to find out at some point. Praying Rose wouldn't start hyperventilating again, the Doctor flicked on the sonic screwdriver's blue light. The cracks were still spreading, slowly but surely, as more dirt (he assumed) was shovelled on top of them. "Doctor…" came the terrified whisper from next to him, and he encircled his arm as best he could around her limp shoulders.

"Rose, listen." The Doctor's voice shook, and he winced. That wouldn't help. His hand came up to her cheek, and her eyes flicked from gazing at the precarious panes of glass to look him in the eyes. "I am going to get us out of here," he told her seriously. "That glass is about to shatter-" A loud splicing sound affirmed his words, "-but we are going to get out of here. We've only been covered for a few minutes, so they can't've buried us too deep-" A squeak of fear emanated from Rose, her eyes widening at his admission they were indeed, _buried_, but there was no time to mince his words.

The Doctor grasped Rose's hand firmly, his right to hers across his chest, then wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close. The sonic remained clasped in his left hand wrapped around Rose, and he started up the high frequency sound that his plan was dependent on. That had control over whether they - whether Rose lived or died here. It was too high for both human and Time Lord ears, so he hoped like hell it was working.

"You keep a hold of my hand," he said loudly as another crack sounded and Rose tucked her tear-stained face into his shoulder. "Rose, trust me, I've got a plan, _I will get you out of here_."

On his last word, a shattering sound crashed in his ears and a scream coupled the already piercing noise; the Doctor felt Rose go rigid in his arms as he closed his eyes and prayed his plan would work.

* - * - * - * - *

The Doctor awoke to a wet sensation on his face. Snuffling sounds, and yes, that was definitely something wet…. He squinted his eyes open, then flinched as he was greeted by daylight and the tongue of a border collie. The dog stopped licking his face when the Doctor opened his eyes, sitting next to him patiently, expectantly. The Doctor grinned; what a plan that had been! It had worked!

"Good dog," he rasped, nodding. He shifted, finding himself still half-buried in broken pieces of glass and dirt spotted with paw prints, but at least able to move. One by one he checked: legs, yes. Arms, yes. Neck, yes - wait, arms. Rose was in his arms. Had been. Now she wasn't.

Alarm shot through the Doctor, and he painfully rolled himself over to find Rose slumped to the side a few feet away, his sonic screwdriver clutched between her fingers.

"Rose…" he muttered, crawling over to her and distractedly brushing what dirt he could from her pale face. It didn't make much difference; they were both still covered in dirt. He took back to sonic, slotting it back inside his jacket before seizing Rose under the arms and dragging her limp unconscious form out of the pit. Thankfully it was actually quite shallow, but the Doctor noticed as he reached the edge that four or five more dogs were circles around the pit, watching over him and his companion. His companion… Rose still had not woken up. She was a dead weight, her body completely limp and she hadn't gained any colour back in her cheeks. The Doctor laid her gently down, worry bubbling in his stomach as her head lolled, and he knelt beside her.

"Rose, wake up," he told her, his voice shaking as he checked her vitals, pressing two fingers to the pulse point in her neck. His hand went numb, and he felt the blood literally drain from his face.

There was nothing.

"Rose, don't do this to me, don't, come on…" the Doctor muttered desperately, leaning down and listening for breath. Again, nothing. "Rose," he said again; it was the only word his brain could manage as he quickly flattened her body, tipped her head back and began CPR on his beloved companion, first pumping her heart with his hands, then covering her cold lips with his as he breathed oxygen into her lungs. Except he couldn't breathe into her. There was a barrier; something was blocking his breaths from getting to Rose's lungs. Dread making his fingers tremble, the Doctor took one look down his pink and yellow girl's throat and his own hearts nearly stopped.

Ugly black dirt, speckled with little bits of glass was visible at the back of Rose's throat, and the Doctor had to turn away to throw up into the pit. He felt sick; worse, he felt empty. His hearts ached, a dull throbbing pain with each of their beats. He felt - he _was _responsible. His Rose, his beautiful Rose had choked to death on dirt and glass, alone, while his own respiratory bypass had saved him from suffocation.

The nauseous feeling faded but the emptiness remained; the Doctor refused to break down or let any tears fall as he crawled back to Rose. She lay still and pale, her limbs lying slack on the ground. Her lips were only slightly parted, eyes closed, and her head had fallen slightly to the side, as if she had followed him with her gaze when he pulled away. Her entire body, and the Doctor's as well, was covered with a layer of dark damp soil, dulling the once vibrant colours of her peach-coloured shirt and casual jeans.

Carefully, swallowing constantly, the Doctor slumped next to Rose -_Rose's body_ - and pulled her limp form into his lap. His trembling fingers caressed her cold cheek, and suddenly the Doctor decided he didn't care anymore. His golden pink and yellow girl was gone, taken from him, forever.

_How long are you gonna stay with me?_

Forever.

There would be no more forever. And so with this realisation, the Doctor crouched over her body, clutching his dead wilted Rose close, and cried.


End file.
